Protecting Farmland From Development

* Once again, our beautiful farmland is being hotly pursued by those who would turn it to lesser uses: yesterday, the ag lands near the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library; now in Oxnard, the 100 acres west of Patterson to Victoria.

Isn’t it time to think long term--even think globally as well as locally? We have a unique, irreplaceable resource--as fine as any agricultural soil on the planet, well-watered and in a setting of sheer beauty. Silhouetted by Topa Topa Mountain, shall we replace our green, productive land with cement, topped by row on row of houses?

Oxnard has been blessed with astounding climate, water and rich farmland. We have the responsibility to recognize our role in preserving it. We do not have the moral right to abandon it to short-term development when the city is asked to review applications for its destruction--whether the land be in or adjoining the greenbelt. Be on guard: The future is in our hands.

JEAN HARRIS

Oxnard